Fic Notes 2 - The Lost Empire
by Arlownay1991
Summary: "...in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea." (Plato, 360 B.C.) - For more info on my "Fic Notes" series, please check my profile page.
1. The Beginning

**FIC NOTES are my series of story ideas** that constantly pop up in my mind. **They are absolutely free for adoption** by the talented writers around here who will find inspiration in them. **For more info** on this series of NOTES, **please check my profile page. **

This fic note is about something like a **Prideshipping** crossover between YGO DM and Disney's "Atlantis - The Lost Empire", with minor elements from the movie "Avatar" by James Cameron and with a slight parallel with Marvel's movie - "Iron Man". xD

** All of the above mentioned animes and movies belong to their respectful owners! Nothing is mine here!**

The action is set in contemporary times. (May be slightly AU version, depending on what ideas the adoptive author will have regarding the military details of the story.)

**Rating M** – Since it's a prideshipping story, it might contain lemons and nudity. We have the war motive here, so it might also include scenes of death, blood, gore, suffering, torture and angst.

**Main Plot**

''_...in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea."_

―Plato, 360 B.C.

Many centuries ago, an accidental weapons discharge would cause a titanic tsunami that threatens do destroy the capital city of Atlantis. The giant crystal that powers the city, known as the Heart of Atlantis, calls upon the Queen and pulls her up so that they would be bonded in order to save the city. Her infant son, Atem, watches in tears before his father, King Aknamkanon, covers his eyes. The power of the crystal creates a protective barrier around the center of the city, keeping it from being destroyed by the tsunami. However, it also results in the city being buried beneath the subsiding waters for eternity with the remaining of its people doomed to never see the surface again.

**Main Characters**

**_Gozaburo Kaiba - _**Former military commander , founder and CEO of KaibaCorp Industries, which is a successful multi-billion dollar multinational company that develops and manufactures advanced weapon and defense technologies. He's officially working on various government projects , but secretly delivers weapons to terrorists. A brilliant strategist and manipulator. Cold and cruel man, who always works for benefits and is incapable of compassion. He's searching for Atlantis just to find the powerful energy crystal, which is the heart of the sunken city and which will allow him to make enormous fortune by bringing the crystal to the surface and selling it for war purposes.

**_Seto Kaiba_** – The adopted son of the wealthy ex commander Gozaburo Kaiba. He's prideful, never backing down from a fight and giving everything of himself when achieving his goals. Kaiba has a sense of superiority and sense of arrogance, making it extremely difficult to earn his respect, and causes him to look down on and treat others as inferior until they do so. Seto has difficulty when forced to rely on others and work as a team. His pride in himself and his accomplishments is a prominent part of his character, and he reacts harshly to those who threaten or infringe on it.

At a young age, Seto and his younger brother Mokuba's parents both died. Their relatives took everything from their will and sent Seto and Mokuba to the orphanage. From a very young age he dabbles in technology and develops exceptional skills in strategic thinking. This is how he convinces Gozaburo Kaiba to adopt him and Mokuba, by carefully studying his chess methods. Once Gozaburo arrives at the orphanage to perform a publicity stunt, Seto sees the chance to challenge him to a game of chess, with the stakes being that Gozaburo was to adopt Seto and Mokuba together, should Seto win. Gozaburo refuses at first, but when Seto threatens to tell everyone he backed down from a challenge with a child, he submits. Seto wins since he had already studied Gozaburo's chess play and then he reluctantly adopts both brothers.

Now in his early 20's, Seto is working at KaibaCorp. His amazing technical knowledge and skills about mechanics, computers and creating virtual software systems push the company to a significant development. However, Seto, by knowing what major suffering and death the company and the weapons it produces cause to the outside world, has his own plans for it once he inherits it. Kaiba plans to build a Kaiba Land theme park for underprivileged children and intends to make KaibaCorp a high-tech gaming industry, believing that games purify the soul. Gozaburo however isn't interested in his plans as games cannot be used to rule, beat down enemies and rise to power. That's why he keeps Seto in the dark that he doesn't intend to allow him take over his company.

Seto is also a keen linguist and often in his spare time he likes to read about lost civilizations. Though his adoptive father often feels that this is a totally unnecessary waste of time, Seto always reasons him that his gaze is only aspiring into the future, but it is reasonable that future generations should never repeat the mistakes of already lost civilizations.

**_Atem Nedakh_** – A warrior prince, strong and very skilled at combat. Son of the current king of Atlantis – Aknamkanon and heir to the throne. He's beautiful, prideful, quite forceful, violent, and aggressive at times, but has a kind heart, and a general respect for all living creatures. He's a skilled hunter and gather, often left in charge of scavenging within the caverns and catacombs of the earth in search of additional food and resources. He's is also among the city's finest guardians and protectors. Atem is also very protective over the ones he loves, and his people. Due to witnessing the near destruction of the central city of the continent when his mother is called forth by the Heart of Atlantis to save the city, and due to his father wishing to prevent a repeat of what happened and thereby secretly erasing much of the Atlantean history, Atem begins to lose the ability to remember much of the past culture and even his own native written language. Atem believes that his people are beginning to lose their sense of self and wishes to look to the past to rediscover their lost culture, though his father always seems to forbid it. Till the very death of his father, Atem doesn't know the truth that Aknamkanon was the one to cause his mother's death and downfall of their great civilization. In the same time, while having an overall knowledge about the evolution of humanity thanks to the magic of the Heart of Atlantis, Atem is set very negative towards the contemporary people, (which Atlanteans call "outsiders"). Although he's fascinated by the way people create more and more bizarre things that his people can't explain (and which he calls "miracles") and are able to look into the past, which they haven't even witnessed or experienced, he does not approve of the constant wars that ruin the nature and destroy the lives of the innocent. He detests the fact that people nowadays do not stop using their incredible abilities to create more and more weapons that only bring death and destruction.

**_Aknamkanon Nedakh_** - The king and ruler of Atlantis at the height of its power. In his arrogance he uses the Heart of Atlantis as a weapon in order to conquer and colonize other lands and cultures, which ends up bringing about his downfall as his pride is carried over into his army, which results in the accidental weapons discharge that creates the Great Flood that sinks the city. Additionally, his wife is chosen by the crystal in an act to save the central city from being destroyed outright. However, those who remain bonded to the crystal for too long get lost in it forever, leaving his little son without a mother. In his grieve Aknamkanon virtually erases all of their history and knowledge on the Heart of Atlantis, reasoning that its use would only lead to history repeating itself. As a result, he often clashes with his son, who himself doesn't know the truth about his father and has forgotten much of the past, over the state of the city with him believing that their way life is preserved while Atem believes it is merely dying a slow death and is constantly trying to figure out a way to revive the true memories of the days before the Great Flood. In order to preserve the remains of Atlantis hidden from the surface and out of the reach for the contemporary people, Aknamkanon, thanks to the Heart of Atlantis creates the creature called _The Leviathan_** - **a mechanical monstrosity, longer than a submarine, left near the underwater entrance to Atlantis so that it could protect the city from intruders. Leviathan's Lair has ships from every era, meaning that the giant has killed many men throughout the centuries.

**Important items**

**_Heart of Atlantis_** - Around 100,000 BC, a huge comet passes over the Earth. A piece breakes off and lands in land belonging to Atlantis. Upon examination, the civilians uncover the great properties it possesses. In time, they built their entire culture, civilization, and empire upon it. Since it is the sole source of their power, it is called the Heart of Atlantis.

The Atlanteans however over-extend their power, wishing to dominate other civilizations with ease. Then, an accidental discharge of the crystal threatens to wipe out the entire empire in one fell swoop. The Heart of Atlantis acts, bonding with the city's Queen, to generate a protective barrier around the center of the city. Those within would be saved, but would also be buried beneath the Earth. The time and power consumed to save the people results in the Queen being lost to the crystal forever.

The crystal is too powerful for any one person to control. It develops a consciousness of its own, by observing the memories and emotions of the kings who have ruled Atlantis over the centuries. In a times of danger, it will find a royal host and in exchange the crystal will deliver protection to the city and its people. But the price for the host who's being connected to the crystal for too long is to get lost in it forever.

Having used the crystal's powers for personal gains, King Aknamkanon Nedakh loses his wife, when the crystal connects with her body and mind in order to create a protective shield around the capital of Atlantis during the Great Flood and thus saving a small part of the Atlantean people. In his grieve and understanding his great mistake, King Aknamkanon tries to destroy the crystal, but the Heart of Atlantis, having developed its own consciousness, sets a punishment upon Aknamkanon himself by blinding him for the rest of his life. Instead of trying to separate the crystal from what remained of the land of Atlantis, he virtually erases all written history, hoping his son will never discover the true reason for the downfall of their great civilization and the death of his mother, while those among his people who have witnessed the Great Flood and have survived it, will forget the event forever. Aknamkanon locks the Heart of Atlantis deep beneath his chambers, but despite that, the crystal continues to supply the citizens with light and the energy of prolonged life.

**_Shepherd's Journal_** - At some point, a shepherd named Aziz manages to stumble upon Atlantis. For two years, he secretly immerses himself it its culture, uncovering bits and pieces of its past, including the location of the Heart of Atlantis. Upon his return to the surface, however, he is considered a madman and subsequently sent to an asylum. While imprisoned, he would detail his journey in great detail, albeit in the Atlantean Language. His writings become known as the Shepherd's Journal.

The Journal would pass through many hands over time, thus bringing the legend of Atlantis back into the consciousness of the surface world. Some consider it fact, others call it fiction, the discovery of the lost empire is nonetheless considered one of the greatest treasures all archaeologists strive to achieve.

**How the adventure begins**

Due to Japan being a global partner to NATO, Gozaburo and Seto travel to Iceland in connection with the arming of the country's newly formed standing army.

**A/N** – Here the writer who will adopt the story might come up with a way better reason for both of them to visit Iceland xD In reality Iceland doesn't have its own standing army, although there is no legal impediment to forming one and Icelandic services perform the operations fellow NATO allies relegate to their standing armies. Seto and Gozaburo have to go to Iceland, since there are believes that many of the islands off the coast of Iceland are parts of the Atlantean continent that have drifted there, having been swept underneath the sea. This is an essential detail in the story and the answer to the question why the hell the characters have to go exactly in Iceland. xD

However, being extremely tired of all those military conferences he has to attend along with his adoptive father, Seto decides to take a short break and investigate the natural riches of the country, which is also known as The Land of Fire and Ice. Seeking a little freedom and change in the atmosphere, he joins a 7 days arctic adventure to climb the country's highest mountain. But one night, the base camp located in one of the caves in the foot of the mountain is unexpectedly caught in a major snow slide, which clogs the entrance and causes a collapse. Seto and several other members of the group go missing, while the guide and the few survivors are trying to organize a rescue team. Due to the collapse of the cave, Seto wakes up in an underground chamber, richly decorated with frescoes telling the story of an ancient civilization. Although being fascinated by the view before him and wanting to decipher the frescoes, Seto is injured and while seeking a way out through one of the underground tunnels he stumbles upon an old book immured in one of the painted walls. Quickly flipping through the pages he discovers the striking similarities between the paintings in it and those carved on the walls of the underground cave. Following the path of the tunnel he's soon led to an exit located on the other side of the mountain. The rescue team spots him and he is soon hospitalized.

Once he recovers he secretly handles to investigate the book. Thanks to his linguistic skills and knowledge regarding the lost civilizations, Seto soon makes the connection between the underground cave, the book named "Shepherd's Journal" and the long lost city of Atlantis. Flipping through the pages again and again he also reads about the source of power, strength, knowledge, and life in Atlantia – the crystal being described as the land's heart. Knitted into the very covers of the journal, Seto finds a small piece of cloth, and in it – a tiny, shiny stone fragment. Fascinated by the beauty of the little piece of stone, Seto accidentally cuts his finger on its sharp tips. But as soon as he touches the stone with his wounded finger, the stone begins to shine even brighter, and in the next moment the wound disappears like it never was. Seto hangs the stone as a necklace around his neck, and the same night he's struck by dreams, in which he sees the ancient city in all its glory.  
Seto realizes that everything written in the diary about the power source of Atlantis is true. A power so great, that it can cure, bring life, but also destroy entire civilizations. He understands that the little piece of rock has absorbed memories and views from the city before it sank.

**A/N** – Here I imagine Seto having dreams about Atem too. ^_^ It's prideshipping fic after all. =D

Now holding in his very hands the detailed instructions on how to reach the lost empire, Seto is determined to go to and find it. But while working on high position in the company of his adoptive father, he can not invest such a large-scale expedition alone. Therefore he turns to Gozaburo, who isn't initially impressed, thinking that's another nonsense, but when Seto demonstrates the healing power of the little piece of crystal, Gozaburo changes his mind. Seto explains to Gozaburo all abilities of the real crystal that are written in details in the "Shepherd's Journal". Seto offers a deal to Gozaburo that if he funds and expedition to find the energy source of Atlantis, which Seto will lead himself and if the mission turns out to be successful, Gozaburo will finally retreat from the leading chair of the company and will transfer the CEO position to Seto.

Gozaburo agrees, while secretly not truly intending to keep his end of the bargain. He sees Atlantis's energy source only as the most powerful weapon humanity will ever have the chance to witness and the thing that will make him immortal and the eternal ruler of the company that will hold the world on its knees if it possess the Heart of Atlantis.

Gozaburo provides the most advanced submarine to reach the underwater entrance to Atlantis and employs highly trained crew, which however, secretly follows his orders only. With Seto as the leader who can translate the directions from the book, the expedition to the legendary sunken empire is all set and ready to go.

**A/N**

WOW, even for a fic note this turned out to be more like a whole movie summary. =D

But at least I finally managed to get this out of my head. ^_^

What will happen next is completely author's choice. Some major changes to the above mentioned ideas can also occur, only if they're intriguing and can fit the storyline.

There will be at least one more update to this, since I intend to add some minor directions for the potential development of the story, according to my visions, as well as some little trivia facts. ^_^

About how to create a dialogue in the ancient Atlantean language, visit this page. ;)

– : / / atlantisthelostempire . wikia wiki/ Atlantean_Language

I really long to see this story written. So if someone decides to pick it up, I just want this author to promise me to be absolutely devoted to the story from beginning to end. It has an amazing potential to become a wonderful fan fiction.

Well, that's all for now regarding this story idea of mine. If some separate scenes happen to pop up in my mind, I'll be sure to update it. Until then I'll be sitting quietly here crossing fingers that some talented writer will find the needed inspiration to adopt it. ^_^'

Have a nice reading. ;)

PS: Excuse my writing errors, if you find any. I hope everything written is clear enough, since english isn't my native language.


	2. Arriving at Atlantis

**Story development – Arriving at Atlantis:**

Gozaburo, Seto and the team of specialists assembled by Gozaburo himself set out in the _Ulysses_, an armored, massive submarine, which dips in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean in search of the secret passage to the lost continent. They are soon attacked by the monstrous Leviathan, a robotic lobster-like creature that guards Atlantis' entrance. The _Ulysses_ is destroyed, causing the deaths of hundreds of anonymous sailors, but Seto, Gozaburo and part of the crew escape and make their way to an underground cavern, described in the _Journal_ as the real entrance to Atlantis, which is being surrounded by a large network of caves and a dormant volcano.

**A/N** – The submarine can be named differently, depending on the author's ideas. Other names for it that pop in my head are Odysseus, Nautilus, Triton, Argonaut, Seawolf and many more…the list with suggestions continues. =D What other YGO or original characters will be added as members of the crew travelling with Seto and Gozaburo is completely an author's choice.

The team decides to camp in one of the caves on their way. But little do they know that few unfamiliar figures closely monitor their every step, while being carefully hidden in the darkness. Prince Atem and a group of his men notice the intruders while they tour the catacombs in search of resources. Atem and his fellow atlantiens are ready to attack the outsiders, but Atem makes quiet order to stop the moment he hears Gozaburo questioning Seto about how much of information he has managed to translate from the Journal. Seto explains to Gozaburo that he has succeeded to translate all the information regarding the way to reach Atlantis, but as of the moment he has issues translating the complete info about the crystal called the Heart of Atlantis. He explains he's perfectly capable of reading and understanding the ancient language, but the information he gathers is confused and incomplete – a big part of the ink , which the manuscript is written with, got erased over time, wiping out important details.

**A/N** – I'm changing the fact that the Shepherd's Journal is missing a page, since Seto is the first one to find the journal and investigate it. Gozaburo can't just tear a page and save it for himself. Seto will immediately notice such thing. Gozaburo wants Seto's trust and cooperation for as long as possible, until they find Atlantis's crystal.

Hearing that Seto can read their native language, Atem decides not to kill the outsiders, but instead he and his men attack the camp by starting a fire that burns large part of their equipment and weapons, while the crew is thrown into panic. Within the confusion of the expanding fire Gozaburo, as an experienced military, manages to wound some of Atem's people, while in turn they wound some of Gozaburo's crew. In direct confrontation Atem injures and takes Seto as a hostage, by threatening to kill him is Gozaburo and his men don't lay down their weapons and surrender. Gozaburo hesitates for a long moment, but knowing that Seto is the only one capable to take them to the power source of "these savages" (what he sees Atlantean people as), he orders his men to cease the fire and do what they are told. Atem and his men take Gozaburo, Seto and the others from the team as hostages and lead them straight to Atlantis to condemn and execute them.

**A/N** – I think Atem and his men starting the fire and attacking Gozaburo and the others for a better idea than the scene with the wave of fireflies from the original "Atlantis" movie by Disney.

Atem and is fellow Atlanteans lead Gozaburo, Seto and the crew at Atlantis, which, totally opposite to their believes, is alive and thriving. The group is taken to King Aknamkanon himself. Enraged by the arrogance of the newcomers Aknamkanon is ready to behead them, but Atem restrains him, reasoning that Seto can read their written language and he may be useful to unravel the mysteries of their past. Aknamkanon flatly refuses, secretly fearing that his son will learn the truth about his horrible mistake in the past. He prohibits Atem to communicate with any of outsiders, but in order not to inspire suspicion on his own son, he decides to keep the group locked until he makes a final decision on how to proceed with their lives.

**A/N** – I imagine the Atlantiens being a peace-loving people in the past, but the thousands of years of oblivion under the see have made them more violent and aggressive towards modern humans.

Atem senses that his father is hiding something, but since everyone except for the king is forbidden to get near and advise with the heart of Atlantis for answers, he decided to take matters into his own hands and use Seto's skills in his favor. During their stay in the cell Gozaburo questions Seto what he could understand from the conversation between the king and the prince. Seto tells him that the king is about to kill them but his son is the only one who holds him back. Gozaburo in turn, decides to use the Prince's interest in Seto and draw up an action plan of his own.

**A/N** - Forceful attack against the people of Atlantis is impossible at the current situation they are in, as the crew are few in number, some of them wounded and they can't get to firearms.

Gozaburo orders Seto to try and understand what the prince wants from them, and allows his adoptive son to provide his assistance, but only in the condition that the king grands freedom to him and the rest of the team. Just then Atem arrives in front of their cell and notices that Seto is still badly injured. He orders his men to take him to a separate cell where he can undergo a better medical care.

**A/N** – I imagine that here is the moment where the pretty difficult romance between Atem and Seto can begin. =D I just can picture how Atem tries to cure Seto's wound with the little crystal hanging from his neck, while Seto tries to push him away, while he sprays the typical for his mouth insults, as the big smartass he is. =D At the same time, however, Atem insults Seto in his own language with a victorious smile on his face, which totally throws Seto in checkmate. xD This is how Seto finds out that the Atlanteans can speak any language as theirs is the root source for all others. =) Just imagine their faces and you'll know this is the perfect scene for revealing this piece of essential story information. ;)

And the verbal battle between both won't just end here. Atem offers to make his father spare his life if Seto help him decipher the hieroglyphs on the ruins around the city. Seto realizes that neither Atem nor his people remember their written language and he's the only one who can understand it. Benefiting from his great advantage, Seto agrees to help Atem only in exchange for the lives and freedom of all other members of his crew. Seeing no other way to force Seto to comply to his terms (since Seto himself is proud and stubborn bastard =D) and having no other alternative, which could help him reveal the mysteries of his civilization's past, Atem agrees with Seto. However, Atem doesn't like the fact that some outsider has succeeded to make him retreat from his conditions, which were supposed to be absolute. xD With great effort he manages to convince his father to free the crew as a sign of his good will. Aknamkanon agrees to try to incorporate the newcomers, if they want it. But Gozaburo and the others have a very little choice on the matter anyway. They either agree to live free on the land of Atlantis as part of the citizens and follow their rules and manners of life, or be exiled or killed. In both cases, by choosing to find Atlantis they have already chosen to never see the surface again.

As an experienced strategist Gozaburo sees the great opportunity that opens before them. He makes his crew to accept the offer of the king and start carefully and thoroughly monitor Atlantean people. To learn all their habits and beliefs, as he plans to keep his enemies as closer as possible and then strike them when they least expect it. By King Aknamkanon's order, of all fire weapons and equipment that remain in the catacombs and has survived the fire is sealed in one of the caves in Atlantis in order to eliminate all traces of the march of the outsiders. Some of the crew are elected to be appointed for fishermen and craftsmen, while Gozaburo decides to serve to the army of Atlantis. Atem decides to teach Seto on his own. Aknamkanon doesn't approve of the idea at first, but Atem reasons him that this way he'll keep a closer look at the outsiders, since they are not yet to be trusted. Aknamkanon reluctantly agrees, but promises that if he feels even the slightest sign of rebellion on behalf of the newcomers, he'll kill them in order to protect the rest of the people. Atem bows his head in agreement.

* * *

**A/N** – At some point in time there will be more updates to this than intended at first, since ideas are constantly popping in my head, and I just have to put them all on paper. I decided to write a complete summary of how I imagine this story should look like, even if I can't write it myself. So, for those interested in this series of notes, expect more updates soon. ;) Once again – forgive me if you find any writing and grammar mistakes. English isn't my native language and I'm trying my best while writing this. ^_^


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